


A Shadow's Saviour

by Molo_23



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27331825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Molo_23/pseuds/Molo_23
Summary: Hi all! Molo here with my first fic on AO3 :0It's a short but sweet one, there's still another chapter to come (unless I get carried away and end up making it longer haha)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	1. Memory

Tap, tap, tap. The young girl's footsteps echoed gracefully off of the walls and floor of the space station's coridoors. She pushed herself into a speed-walk, hesitant to run as her health condition left her unable to. With a shudder, she thought about where her missing companion could be. She and her grandfather's artificial lifeform had grown close, despite only being aquainted for about a week. They'd been learning to play rock paper scissors just before the girl's medical appointment, and she hadn't been able to find the bio-hedgheog since. 

She was sure that she'd checked every room, after about half an hour of searching. _Unless they're in..._ she thought to herself, and swallowed a lump of fear in her throat. No. They couldn't have taken her friend into that room, she wasn't allowed in there, so why should grandpa's lifeform be? The girl continued up into the upper levels of the station, every nerve in her body telling her to stop. She ignored them. If her friend was in trouble, she had to help him. 

...

"Hmm, another faliure. I'd have hoped its endurance ability would be higher by now.." Professor Gerald Robotnik mumbled to himself. He, and a team of scientists, were pushing buttons on a long console and at several computers. In front of them, a large pane of glass separated the control room from a small square room decked to the brim in machines and wires, all aiming menacingly at a slim, metal slab. Strapped cruelly to the table, was a small, trembling black and red hedgehog. Gerald tinkered with some sliders and typed in some numbers on the computer closest to him. Once he was done, he nodded to the scientist next to him, and they gradually pushed a lever away from them. 

The machines inside the glass walled-off room whirred to life and spat out agressive jets of electricity. The bio-hedgehog let out a small squeak of terror, followed by a shrill screech, as the electricity pulsed through his limbs. Gerald tutted, in a disappointed manner, and went to scribble something on a large chalkboard situated on the back wall of the control room. 

His writing was inturrupted by a sudden click. The door to the experiment room swung open, and Gerald's granddaughter stepped into the room, her eyes darting frantically, taking in every sight there was to see. Her eyes locked onto what was happening in the adjacent room. 

"Is that Shadow?!" 

"Maria," Gerald placed a hand on her shoulder, lovlingly, but with a hint of frustration. "You know the rule about this room." Maria scowled at her grandfather, and broke away from his touch. 

"It doesn't matter if _this_ is what you're doing!" tears welled up in her eyes, as she cast another glance to her friend, shiverring and still strapped down to the table, a thin line of smoke floating up from his body. "...What are you doing, Pa?" 

Gerald sighed, and removed his glasses so he could rub the bridge of his nose. He took Maria by the shoulder again, and signalled his team to retract the manacing machines away from Shadow. 

"Listen, sweetheart. Shadow's greater purpose, his reason for exsistance, it'll require him to be able to endure many hardships." the professor explained. Maria's gaze remained locked on the dark hedgehog. "This is to help him become mroe durable. Do you understand?"

"That doesn't-" Maria began, choking on tears. "That doesn't give you the right to torture him like this. Isn't the rigorous training enough?" Impatient, the scientists began to whisper at Gerald if the experiment would continue. 

"We need to continue, Maria." he said, in a monotone voice. His granddaughter flinched slightly at the sudden shift in his mood. In an instant, her expression shifted from fright to anger. She burst through the door that led into the experiment room, and put held onto one of Shadow's hands tightly. 

"I won't let you!" she cried, a single tear falling from each eye. The scientists all scrambled to disable any shock or pain inducing machine that was still active. Gerald grumbled to himself. 

"Granddaughter, you are putting yourself at great risk in there. Please get out, _now_." the professor shouted at her. Maria remained stationary. After what felt like an eternity of tense silence, Gerald sighed and signalled for the scientists to release Shadow from the mechanical table straps. 

With a pop and a hiss, Shadow was freed. Maria hastily scooped him up in her arms and cradled him, still glaring at the scientists. The small hedgehog whimpered gently and nuzzled his face into Maria's shoulder. 

"Don't you ever do this to him again, you hear me?" the girl spat. She swiftly left the room, clutching Shadow as if the scientists would try to take him from her. No attempt to stop the two leaving was made. Once they had left the room, and the subtle taps of Maria's shoes had faded away, Gerald clenched his fists. Concerned mumbling filled the room as the professor wondered what lengths he'd have to go to, to turn his creation into the weapon he'd been hoping him to become. 

...

"I can't believe them..." Maria hissed through her teeth, as the double sliding doors to her bedroom opened with a flourish. After gently placing Shadow down, next to his favourite beanbag chair, she flopped onto her bed in a huff. The red and black hedgehog cocked his head to the side in curiosity, and shuffled over to the side of his friend's bed. He placed his tiny chin next to hers, and gave a concerned squeak. Maria smiled, her heart melting at the comforting gesture from the hedgehog. She gently stroked the fur on his forehead, running her delicate fingers along the edges of the red marking that stopped just above his eyes. 

"It's okay, Shadow, I'll never let them hurt you. Ever." She whispered, gently wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. Shadow snuggled into the warmth of the hug, releasing a happy purr as he did. As the two companions slowly drifted into a cosy sleep, the entire world seemed to melt away around them. Maria didn't care about anything at that moment, she only thought of how much she cared for this Ultimate Lifeform. As she slept, she drempt about their future together, down on that beautiful, blue planet she'd spend most of her life watching from above. 

Shadow felt the rise and fall of his friend's chest as she slept. He noticed the occassional shudder in her chest, he supposed those were being caused from her breathing condition. Despite his inability to speak in proper sentences at that point, he still understood more than he let on. Mostly to Maria. She'd been teaching him how to read, so he was getting a hang of forming certain words. Shadow wondered how long it would take until he learned how to thank his companion for all she'd done for him. He didn't understand why she showed such affection toward him, but he was greatful for it nonetheless.

Another shudder from Maria caused the hedgehog to break out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat and tried to say "Maria," but all that slipped out was a soft "Ah" sound. It was still enough to get the girl to wake up. Her sapphire eyes were slowly revealed as her eyelashes flickered out of the way. 

"What's the matter?" she asked, softly, continuing to stoke Shadow's fur. A puzzled expression was frozen on Shadow's face, as several more vowel sounds came awkwardly from his throat. Maria slowly realised he was trying to speak. "Oh! You want to say something?" The hedghog nodded, his ears flopped forward in subtle embarassment. Maria smiled and sat up in bed, helping Shadow get upright as well. She gave him a quick vocal warm-up, by asking him to say each vowel sound, which he managed quite effortlessly. Then, she pulled out a book about the alphabet from the underneath her bed. Once they got to the "TH" sound, Shadow began to try and make the noise. It came out like a rough "F" sound, and Maria giggled. 

"You put your tounge between your teeth, like this- _thhh_." She made the noise while pointing at her mouth. Shadow copied and managed to get out a strong _"THHH!"_ which made Maria laugh again, before clapping her hands excitedly. "That's it, Shadow!" The hedgehog grinned, proud of himself. He then flicked back to the beginning of the book and pointed at the "A" sound. He tried saying it again, then excitedly turned to face Maria. 

"Tha-!" the hedgehog exclaimed, his ruby red eyes glistening. A look of confusion was clear on Maria's face, but she still tried to praise Shadow for his effort. Quickly, Shadow flicked to the page explaining the letter N, and added it to his word. "Than-" Again, he searched for the next letter, K. Once he'd found it, he pointed to it. Maria, now caught on to what Shadow was trying to say, taught him how to make the clicking sound of a K. 

At last, his word was complete, and Shadow cleared his throat, ready to impress his friend with his new ability. 

"Thank!" the small black and red hedgehog said, with a large grin. Maria couldn't help but well up with pride and emotion. Shadow's first word was a symbol of his gratitude towards her. The young girl grinned back and tackled her friend into a tight embrace. She jumped off the bed, and the two of them danced happily around the bedroom, the light from the stars and planets outside their window illuminating their movements in a soft blue light. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Molo here with my first fic on AO3 :0  
> It's a short but sweet one, there's still another chapter to come (unless I get carried away and end up making it longer haha)


	2. A New Saviour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Maria gone, is there anyone still around to come to Shadow's rescue?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo! Sorry this final chapter took so dang long, I'll be honest I lost motivation to work on it a while back, but wanted to get it out eventually haha 
> 
> Hope you enjoy <33

Bounty hunters were the last thing on Shadow's mind, when he had left for a simple recon mission. All was right with the world as he'd infiltrated the seemingly abandoned weapons facility. Now he was kicking himself, all scrunched up in a cramped cage, waiting to face whatever those criminals had in store for him. 

His only method of passing the time was thinking. As he sat alone in the dimly lit, stone room, memories of other times when he was this vulnerable crossed his mind. Memories that trailed further back than Shadow would've liked. He was tougher nowadays, he wasn't as vulnerable - as *weak* - as he was back then.   
Shadow could always count on Maria to break him out of trouble; she'd have come bursting through solid metal if she could've to protect him. He chuckled sadly to himself. 

Was there anyone out there today that cared for him the way Maria did? Shadow figured he didn't deserve the care of anyone else, not after the mistakes he'd made. The dark hedgehog shook his head, and sat up as much as he could in the tiny space. He had better things to do than sit in captivity and feel sorry for himself. 

As he wasn't as good a mechanic as others he knew, Shadow found it difficult making sense of the elaborate locks on the cage he'd been stuffed into. There seemed to be several padlocks, and one that required a passcode to unlock. Shadow huffed in annoyance, and tried to squeeze his hand through the bars to reach the locks. He had some energy left, after fighting off several goons, but he felt drained and didn't know how long he'd last before falling completely unconcious.  
  
One of Shadow's hands clamped around a lock, and he tensed his fist around it, hoping to snap it open. He strained for a few seconds, but to no avail. The padlock remained stiff and unmoved. Shadow scowled at the small, metal box. 

As his eyes shifted away from the padlock, his attention was caught by a faint sound of talking coming from the doorway. The fur all over his body stood on end, and his muscles tensed. The noises of a keypad's buttons being pushed came drifting in alongside the chatter. Then an exclaimation and a small clatter. Whoever was opening the door had been stopped in their tracks. The new person at the door began to fiddle with the lock mechanism, they were muttering under their breath in frustration. Shadow heard them take a few steps back. WHAM! A gaping hole in the flimsy metal had been punched through by a lean, blue hegehog. 

"There you are!" Sonic said, as he stood up and brushed himself down. "Sorry it took so long."   
Shadow remained silent as he shuffled over to the locks on his cage, and hummed thoughtfully. "These are pretty complex, huh? I dunno how I'm gonna get you out." 

Shadow scoffed, "You handled a solid metal door, but can't figure out how to break a lock?"   
With a grin, the other hedgehog chuckled, causing his messy quills to bounce up and down with his head movements. 

"I just don't wanna spin-dash a pole into your face is all, but if you insist..." 

Bracing himself for the impact, Shadow hunched over with his arms over his head. Sonic zipped over to the other side of the room to get a running start. He took off and jumped into the air, curling tight into a ball and hurling himself at the place where the lock and the cage intercepted. After a few seconds of cooldown, Shadow was freed. 

The two took off immeditately, as if they shared an identical mindset. Even witty banter could wait, the important thing at that moment was getting out. Blurs of blue and red flashed through the winding corridors of the abandoned base, and Shadow fought to keep his mind from wandering back up into space, back to the cold, endless halls of the ARK. 

"Keep up, slowpoke!" Sonic called over his shoulder. Shadow snapped out of it, and grinned deviously. He launched forward, his skates exerting a powerful push of force, sending him several feet ahead of his rival. Sonic smirked, glad to see his rival back on his feet, so to speak. 

In a matter of seconds, the hedgehogs tore through the front entrance and out into the dry plains of the base. Once they confirmed their safety, they skidded to a halt. Shadow took a little longer to regain his breath, having been through a lot that day, and he noticed Sonic's gaze never left him. 

"What?" Shadow snapped, feeling somewhat claustrophobic under the intense stare of the emerald eyes. 

"Nothin'." Sonic responded, shifting his vision from the dark hedgehog to the dull grey sky. Shadow stood up straighter and leant against one of the boulders that were concealing the two. 

"How did you find where I was?" 

Sonic smiled sheepishly. "I'll be honest, I kinda followed you here." Shadow tipped his head to the side in curiosity, gesturing for the other to continue. "I had a feeling there were no-good dudes around that base, I had a run in with 'em a while back. And Rouge gave me a tip when she got your SOS." 

Of course she sent *him*. Rouge loved to tease Shadow about the apparently obvious affection he showed for Sonic. Shadow sighed and stood up. 

"Thank you." he managed to get out. Sonic grinned. 

"Hey, it's no problem." 

He hated to admit it, even in his mind, but Shadow was grateful for the blue hedgehog's concern for him. A concern that he'd only felt from one other before. Memories of Maria's kindness suddenly felt very similar to his more recent memories of the Blue Blur. Shadow's crimson eyes widened unconiously to the realisation. Sonic had stuck his neck out for the hybrid several times, and there was never a moment of vulnerability that was met with hostility or discomfort, Shadow seemed to always feel safe around Sonic. Perhaps it was their shared physical prowess and capabilities, or their speciel similarities. What was this feeling? He didn't have the words for it. All he knew was that he wanted to chase this feeling, or at least persue a better understanding of it. 

"Knock knock? Shadow home?" Sonic's voice clicked Shadow back to the present, and he locked eyes with those brilliant emeralds. 

"I um.." His mouth was dry. Why was thanking his rival such a nerve-wracking task? Come on Shadow, you're the Ultimate Lifeform. "Thank you, for your help."

"I already said, bud, it's cool." Sonic smiled, warming Shadow's chest for some unknown reason. 

"I meant, for more than just today. You're reliable and would always come if I needed you. So thank you for caring so much." Sonic was taken aback. He couldn't help a soft pink blush spread across his muzzle. He shot Shadow a toothy grin and flung an arm over his shoulder. 

"My pleasure, Mr Ultimate Lifeform. I'll always have my friends' backs, and that includes you, Shad." 

A rare smile graced the tan muzzle. Shadow gently shoved Sonic off and scoffed. "Yeah well, through all your faults you do have some shining qualities."

"Gee thanks," Sonic smirked. "Like what, huh?" Shadow rolled his eyes and tapped on his communicator, alerting his teammates about the gang of bandits. Sonic sighed and looked off idly into the distance. Looks like that's all the "nice" that's coming from Shadow for today. But still, that was very sweet of him. Sonic liked this softer side to Shadow. Maybe he'd get to see more of it in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this fic! Hooray I actually finished something haha  
> My twitter is @MoloStyle23, I post Sonic fanart there so come over and say hi if you're interested ^v^


End file.
